Group calls for U.S., Canada to team up post-virus

WASHINGTON—Travel between Canada and the United States is still restricted, but businesses, diplomats and communities that depend on cross-border traffic are urging the two countries to join forces in a co-operative approach to thriving in the new post-pandemic global economy.

The Washington-based Canadian American Business Council launched a new online campaign Thursday to convince states, provinces and federal officials on both sides of the border to team up in their battle back from the impact of COVID-19.

The primary goals of the council’s “North American Rebound” campaign are to encourage Canada and the U.S. to work together to secure personal protective equipment, replenish and maintain each other’s medical stockpiles and defend critical cross-border supply chains.

Expanding market opportunities in both countries would speed recovery efforts and better equip both to compete in a world that promises to be dramatically different, said Scotty Greenwood, the council’s CEO.

The effort is a hedge against the perils of protectionism.

“There’s a political tendency — which is understandable, but it doesn’t really work — to say, ‘We’re going to be self-sufficient, we’re going to reshore everything and we’re going to go it alone, we don’t want to be dependent on somebody,’” Greenwood said. “When you think about the Canada-U.S. context, it’s not efficient, and it’s not workable.”